Moviesmademe.com
Review by MvMMDI
Added: July 01, 2008
NOBODY LOVES ALICE by Roger Scheck
While it may be true that nobody loves Alice, I think that it's safe to say that everyone loves May. That was a film that came along and really brought something fresh and exciting to the world of horror, and even though it found a sizable audience, I feel as though it never got the recognition that it deserved. Now, five years later, a little lady has come along that makes May look positively normal and not at all unlike the girl down the street. May might have had some issues, but Alice is a complete and utter psychopath... and this translates to a film that is just as good if not better than May.
As you could probably guess from the title, Alice (Nitzan Mager) wants nothing more than to find a man who truly loves her. She's an attractive albeit shy woman who has a nice office job and a cozy little apartment, but it seems as though she just doesn't have any luck with the men for some strange reason. So, what's a lady to do in this situation? Why, she finds men that seem to have potential, brings them back to her place, ties them up, and tortures them when they misbehave with the hope that maybe they'll eventually find it in their hearts to love her. If they don't, well... getting dumped has never hurt quite so bad as it does with Alice.
Remember that nice office job that I mentioned a few sentences back? This is where the next piece of the puzzle comes into play, as Alice's coworkers there - Abigail (Amanda Taylor) and Megan (Elyse Rodriguez) - come up with a plan that involves our heroine. You see, all of the signs are pointing towards Abby's boyfriend Alex (Phillip Ward) preparing to propose to her, but before she can accept, Abby wants to find out if the whole "all men will cheat given the opportunity" saying applies to her man. So, with that in mind, the two send Alice out to meet her man and attempt to seduce him in order to see if he'll go along with it. What they don't count on is Alice legitimately falling for him, and when he mysteriously disappears after this little debacle, our two friends must figure out what happened to him, while we at home get to watch Alice slowly go more and more insane while trying to get Alex to finally love her.
Mixing together elements of the aforementioned May along with a splash of Misery, this film had me hooked from the opening scene until the credits rolled thanks to its strong storyline and the great performances by all involved. You may be thinking that there's not much to this plot - a psycho kidnaps and tortures a guy while two other women attempt to figure out what we at home already know - but there's so much more to it than just this. The real story here is the downward spiral that Alice's sanity takes as the film progresses and just how far out of touch with reality she truly is, and watching some of these scenes are downright chilling.
One might take a look at the cover art and the synopsis for this film and think that it's nothing more than just another torture porn flick, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are some nasty scenes in here, and yes, the level of violence is fairly high, but the real scares come courtesy of the situation as a whole. Take, for example, one scene in which Alice brutalizes a helpless Alex and then lays down to chat with him as though nothing had happened while he writes in pain. The violence that she unleashed on him was pretty vile, but the conversation that takes place immediately afterward in which she discusses her plans of marrying him and going on their honeymoon left me speechless. This was but one of the scenes that worked out perfectly, so it should go without saying that viewers are in for a treat with this release.
What really helped in this regard was leading lady Nitzan Mager, a woman who may be new to the world of film (according to iMDB) but who carried herself as though she were a seasoned pro. Much like Angela Bettis did with May, Nitzan makes Alice memorable with her flawless portrayal of all the various layers of this character; audiences will sympathize with her, feel pity for her, and be repulsed by her all at the same time. A character of this nature could easily be laughable with a lesser actress in the drivers seat, but Nitzan proved here that she is a name to watch. I can't say much about Phillip Ward as he spends ninety percent of his onscreen time with a piece of duct tape covering his mouth while tied to the bed, but I can say that both Amanda Taylor and Elyse Rodriguez are above average in their roles; however, it's blindingly obvious from the opening moments of the film that Nitzan is the star of the show. Again, keep an eye on her.
Nobody Loves Alice comes with my highest recommendations, and not only that, it's almost guaranteed a top in the upper half of my yearly top ten come January. This is one of those rare films that has it all: strong acting, memorable characters, disturbing violence that will have gorehounds shedding tears of glee, and most importantly, haunting scenes that will stick with you for quite some time. 10/10.
